We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
ARAB HEALTH - INFORMA

Download Mobile App





Coronavirus-Detecting Breathing Device Could Potentially Give a Diagnosis in Less than One Minute

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 20 Apr 2020
Print article
Image: Coronavirus-detecting breathing device could potentially give a diagnosis in less than one minute (Photo courtesy of Northumbria University)
Image: Coronavirus-detecting breathing device could potentially give a diagnosis in less than one minute (Photo courtesy of Northumbria University)
Researchers from two different parts of the world have developed a new method using a breathing device that could revolutionize the way diseases, such as the newly emerged strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, are diagnosed.

Two Israeli companies, Next-Gen and Scentech Medical, have jointly developed a coronavirus-detecting breathing device based on the breathalyzer machine used by the police for detecting alcohol levels in a person’s blood stream. When the patient breathes into the device, it can distinguish between thousands of gas compounds in the breath and then isolate the ones associated with the coronavirus, enabling a quick and simple diagnosis in less than a minute. In addition to significantly reducing the amount of time to achieve results due to its ability to deliver a diagnosis in minutes, the coronavirus-detecting breathing device can quickly identify and diagnose asymptomatic patients, as well as patients in the early stages of the disease, thus enabling a more efficient quarantine approach. The device is also capable of identifying the virus's genetic 'fingerprint.' – allowing for the detection of the genetic fingerprint of the next potential pandemic-causing virus even before it can do major damage.

Similarly, academics at Northumbria University (Newcastle, England) have developed a new device which enables diagnosis of disease through breath collection. Their new device allows sampling of the lung in a non-invasive way - by patients breathing into it - to retrieve biomarkers, such as DNA, RNA, proteins, and lipids found in the breath that have diagnostic potential for diseases of the lung and beyond. To date, systems that diagnose from breath sampling have not proven to be reliable enough due to contamination, sample loss and variability issues in breath analysis. However, the new device resolves these issues so that the data collected through this pioneering invention closely resembles results from lung samples taken surgically. It is hoped that in the future the technology could be used in the diagnosis of lung diseases as well as other health issues such as diabetes, cancers, liver problems, brain and ageing diseases.

“In the case of coronavirus, temperature monitoring in airports is not sufficient,” said Dr Sterghios Moschos, Associate Professor at Northumbria University, who led the study whilst at Westminster University. “The World Health Organization currently recommends testing nasal swabs, oral swabs and swabs from inside the lungs to avoid missing the infection. That’s why it’s vital that we develop non-invasive, quick and cost-effective tests for diagnosis and screening.”

Related Links:
Northumbria University

Gold Member
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Sample-To-Answer Test
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Cartridge (CE-IVD)
Gold Member
POC Blood Gas Analyzer
Stat Profile Prime Plus
New
Oxygen Concentrator
ZH-A51
New
Blood Thawing System
SAHARA-III MAXITHERM 230 V

Print article

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
Image: The AI-powered algorithm offers quick, no-contact screenings for high blood pressure and diabetes (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

AI-Powered Algorithm Offers Quick, Contactless Blood Pressure and Diabetes Screening

A newly developed system that combines high-speed video with an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered algorithm may provide a quick, non-contact method for screening high blood pressure and Type 1 or Type... Read more

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: Catheters coated with the new material showed a significant reduction in clotting on the device surface (Photo courtesy of UBC Faculty of Medicine)

Newly Developed Coating Makes Medical Devices Clot-Free

Thrombosis, or the formation of blood clots, presents a significant challenge for devices that come into contact with blood. Unlike natural blood vessels, these devices can activate specific proteins in... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The portable biosensor platform uses printed electrochemical sensors for the rapid, selective detection of Staphylococcus aureus (Photo courtesy of AIMPLAS)

Portable Biosensor Platform to Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections

Approximately 4 million patients in the European Union acquire healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) or nosocomial infections each year, with around 37,000 deaths directly resulting from these infections,... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The acoustic pipette uses sound waves to test for biomarkers in blood (Photo courtesy of Patrick Campbell/CU Boulder)

Handheld, Sound-Based Diagnostic System Delivers Bedside Blood Test Results in An Hour

Patients who go to a doctor for a blood test often have to contend with a needle and syringe, followed by a long wait—sometimes hours or even days—for lab results. Scientists have been working hard to... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.